Another Promise
by LoliBat
Summary: Reincarnation! 358/2 Days. Once you've met someone, you don't really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return. Another promise has been made.Today is truly a beautiful day. Sequel to the Other Promise, can be read as a stand alone.


Reincarnation! 358/2 Days. Once you've met someone, you don't really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return. Another promise has been made. Today is truly beautiful day, in ways more than one. Sequel to the Other Promise, can be read as a stand alone.

_-Once you've met someone, you don't really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return.-_

Roxas POV

Beautiful. There was only one way to describe today. Absolutely beautiful. Bright, cloudless blue sky, endless and breathtaking. I lay on the grassy meadow on the outskirts of Twilight Town Highschool's campus. The soft wind ruffles through my hair, and I lean my face towards the gentle caress. A bright stream of light strikes my eyes, and I close them, relishing the warmth that the sun brings with it. Beside me, birds chirp on the ground as they peck away at the bread crumbs from my lunch. On the trees far above my head, cicadas chirp soothingly, humming me to sleep.

"Roxas! There you are!" Well, I guess my R&R time's cut short again. By the same person. Again. "Jesus, do you know how long it took me to find you?"

My brother promptly plopped himself down on the grass beside me as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"Sora, what do you need?" I asked, blunt and to the point. I plucked a blade of grass absentmindedly and threw it in his hair. Amazingly, it stayed.

"Roxas, I need help with my English homework! I fell asleep during Professor Leon's lecture because I was so tired out after Ms. Yuffie's gym class! We have a quiz today! A freaking quiz!" I watch with bored eyes as my brother made a fool of himself, completely with waving arms and wide eyes. Well, I have two options. Option one: help said brother, and hope that he'll go away. Option two: not help said brother and watch him squirm and whine.

I sighed. Well, that's not really much of a choice, to be honest. "Alright, Sora, where's your homework? And why don't you get Riku, Kairi, Namine, or Xion to help you instead?" I reached inside my checkered bookbag from beside me and drew out my trusty mechanical pencil. I snatched the paper from the ground and skimmed over it. Dear God, Sora really DID fall asleep. A huge page of blanks returned my gaze.

"Because!" Sora whinned, forgetting that he's fifteen and not three. "Riku's still in the infirmary after the fight he had with Zexion, Kairi's working on her crafts project with Mrs. Lockhart, Namine's in the piano room practicing for her next concert, and Xion's with Axel and Demyx!"

"Uh-huh." Honestly, I didn't hear a single word of what he said. In one ear, out the other. "Here you go, Sora, and don't bother me." I hand the paper back to my annoying twin.

"Thank you!" Sora promptly raced away again. Well, back to my nap. Geez, I can't even get some time alone on my birthday. Thank goodness my brother has a bad memory, or else he'd never stop bothering me. Or worse, he'd buy a cake. And candles. I mentally wince at the idea.

"Yo, what's up?" Or not. There goes my nap. Out the metaphoric window. It was Axel. A giggle sounded from beside me. And Xion, my two best friends.

"Roxas, it's your birthday, right?" Xion smiled at me, her electric blue eyes locked on my own. I mentally sighed again. How could anyone say no to those pair of eyes.

"Yeah, you've got it memorized." I teased. She laughed joyously at that. I expected Axel to also join in the laughter, but he was oddly quiet. I look beside me to see Axel's eyes narrowed and glazed over, as if reminiscing something. His expression is set in stone and darkened over. Is that sadness I see in his eyes? Beside me, Xion looked away, with a similar expression. Just what's going on here?

I've seen so many people with that expression. That same expression, as if the world will end the next day. Is there something that I'm missing? Kairi, Namine, Xion, Axel, Riku, Demyx… everyone! Even my exuberant and bouncy brother!

_Roxas Flashback_

"_Hey Sora!" My brother turned around. I took a moment to devour another chunk in my ice cream before answering his unspoken question._

"_Look at this!" I leaned on the store window, gazing at two key chains on display. They were gorgeous, in the shape of two miniaturized keys. One was rather girly, white and flowery. The other was black as night and adorned with an almost gothic end. Oddly enough, they both seem to have handles on them. I'm definitely getting them. I was about to walk into the store, Agraba-something, when I noticed that my normally loud brother was oddly silent. Queer. _

"_Sora?" I turn around, and my brother was looking at the two keys, his expression unreadable. He didn't even seem to notice that his ice-cream was melting. It seems that my brother got petrified and turned into a statue. "Sora!" He snapped out of it, his eyes suddenly sharp and focused, his muscles tense. He gave me his normal smile and pushed me into the store. _

"_Come on! You treated me to ice-cream, I'll get you the two key chains, how's that? Take it as a thank-you gift for helping me ace my math test last week, okay?" He grinned._

_That didn't fool me for a single second. His grin was most definitely faked. I know my twin well enough to tell that it's fake. His body language… was he about to fight me? And… did I see a shimmer at his fingers? I frowned. _

"_Roxas! Those two are the ones you want, right?" Sora yelled across the store. I sighed and walked over to him. Oh well, it's nothing, right?_

"_Yeah, those are the ones." He turned to the counter and took out his wallet. He pulled out a couple coins and gave them to the clerk. _

"_Oh, since you two are my first customers today, would you like something?" The bearded man, Genie something, reached into a drawer of the counter and took out a small box. It was very pretty, wooden and studded with gems of ever color. I took it in my hand and popped the lid open. It was a music box, but there was no music. I looked at him with an eyebrow raised._

"_You see, this came with our shipment yesterday. The deliveryman said that it got broken on the way to the store. If you can find a repairer, you can get it fixed."_

_I was about to give the box back to him when I noticed that it looked vaguely familiar. Odd. Where did I see this box before? _

"_Thanks." I nodded to the man and dragged my brother out with me. _

_End Flashback_

I never did get the box repaired, but I gave it to Xion, who was quite the mechanic.

"Roxas, Roxas!" Xion was waving her hands in front of my face. I blinked at her. Well, it seems like I spaced out too.

"Here, it's your gift." She rummaged in her pocket for a bit and withdrew a square box wrapped in paper. I gently opened the wrapping and saw the very familiar little jewel-studded music box.

"I finally figured out how to repair it last week. I thought that it'd make a good birthday gift. So go on, how does the music sound?"

Shrugging, I opened the box. I froze. This tune. I've heard it before. It's sad and desperate. Almost like a tale of someone fighting against their fate. It's so familiar. It sounds so much like me… and then all of a sudden, something inside me shattered to a billion shards. An onslaught of images and conversations rapidly passed through my head.

"_They'll destroy you!" _

"_No one would miss me"_

"_That's not true! __I would…"_

"_Thanks, I'll keep it with me. That way, we'll be together always."_

_"We don't accept resignations."_

"_Olette, what's the name of that song?"_

"_It's called The Other Promise."_

_"Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."_

"_Roxas… You'll be better off now. Those hearts I collected, kingdom hearts, set them free."_

_"Who else will I have ice-cream with?"_

_"I will... free kingdom hearts."_

_"What's gonna happen to me now? Just tell me that. Nothing else really matters anymore."_

_"A Nobody doesn't have the right to know. Nor does it even have the right to be."_

_"He was the only one I liked. He made me feel... like I had a heart."_

_"Sora. You're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is... over."_

_"You make a good other."_

_"What are you talking about? I am me! Nobody else!"_

_"Do you remember your true name?"_

_"Look at me, Roxas. Who do you see?"_

_"Maybe today we can hit the beach!"_

_"Hey Roxas, do you know why the sun sets red? Because of all the colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."_

"_Let's meet again in the next life"_

"_Yeah, I'll be waiting."_

The images finally settled. Suddenly, I understood. It was like a door in my mind finally opened, and all the knowledge kept behind it swept me away, much like a tsunami. A wave of guilt and regret followed afterwards.

"Xion, Axel?" I asked, my voice soft. I looked at them as if for the first time. They met my gaze with understanding.

"We're friends, right?" They smiled at me. The gesture has never meant so much to me.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly. "I'm so sorry. I've been so selfish."

Axel walked over to me and bonked me on the head. "Hey, no going emo on me, got it memorized?"

Xion scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. I returned the hug.

After what seemed like an eternity, I let go of her and closed my eyes. I feel out the familiar tingle in my hands. The air shimmered around them, and in a flash, both Oblivion and Oathkeeper appeared in my hands.

My mind registered the presence of other people behind me. I turn around, and they're all there. It's like a dream come true. They're all there, and alive, with hearts beating. Everyone. Sora, Namine, Kairi, Riku, Demyx, even Larxene. They all sensed my 'awakening' of sorts. I turn toward Axel and Xion.

"Thank you. I'll keep it with me. That way, we'll be together always." Truly, today was a beautiful day, in ways more than one.

Another Promise has been made. This time, it is one that will be kept.

_-It's weird. I felt like I forgot something important. But that's alright, because I remember now.-_

End

Mandy: I just got this plot bunny attack all of a sudden when I was listening to some Vocaloid songs. The opening quote is from Spirited away. The "We're friends, right?" part is from Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core. The ending quote is in Kingdom Hears 358/2 Days. I made up the ending part of it. This is what I imagined the end of the game should have been, not what it was. And just in case you didn't deduct from what Olette said, the music in the box is the Other Promise, Roxas' song from KH 358/2 Days.


End file.
